Wind power

Danish clean energy giant Ørsted has just completed its very first utility-scale solar plus battery storage project, and it’s in the US.

Its Permian Energy Center project (pictured above), a 460 MW solar and 40 MW battery storage facility, is in Andrews County, Texas.

A team at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow has figured out how to recycle glass-reinforced polymer composites (GRP) that are used in wind turbine blades. The university has partnered with Norwegian offshore wind developer Aker Offshore Wind and green investment company Aker Horizons to implement its new technology.

This plan could potentially prevent a huge number of wind turbine blades from ending up in garbage dumps.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Researchers produce ultrawhite paint that can cool buildings and reduce the need for air conditioning.
• Vietnam’s largest wind farm comes online.
• China and US pledge to cooperate on fighting climate change.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Texas wind power topped 10.4 million MWh in March – 2 million MWh above its previous high.
• The UK’s power grid emissions fell to a record low on Monday.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Solar and wind led the record growth of renewables globally in 2020, according to IRENA.
• South Dakota wants to subsidize more EV charging stations.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• The first-generation Irene Vorrink wind farm is coming down. What happens next?
• The SEC rules that Chevron must allow a shareholder proposal asking for a transparent account of how a net-zero by 2050 scenario will affect its operations and performance. 
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

GE Renewable Energy has made an agreement with Chicago-based Invenergy, a global clean energy developer and operator, to provide wind turbines for the 1.48 gigawatt North Central Wind Energy Facilities in Oklahoma.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Duke Energy Renewables has begun commercial operation of the 350MW Frontier 2 project in Oklahoma.
• Medium- and long-haul electric trucks are 13% cheaper to own than diesel trucks today – report.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• China built more new wind farms in 2020 than the world combined in 2019 – and a lot of coal plants.
• Supermarket chain Aldi announces its new clean energy and sustainability goals.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

• Apex Clean Energy has sold its fourth clean power purchase agreement to Facebook.
• The IMF has some advice for the US on how to implement climate mitigation goals.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

New York City’s iconic Empire State Building and other buildings in its owner’s portfolio are all now powered entirely by wind, making it the US’ largest real estate user of 100% renewable energy.

Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) wants to fight Biden’s clean energy plan, despite being the No. 1 state in the US for wind power. Texas is also a rising star of solar power, not to mention the home of Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas. Yet, Abbott has issued an executive order to “protect” Texas’ energy industry from federal overreach, or in other words, President Joe Biden’s endorsement of clean energy. Or to put it another way, what Texas is already doing.

West Virginia is getting a 115 MW wind farm, which will increase the state’s wind power by 15%. Here’s why that’s a really big deal – and why West Virginia’s governor, Jim Justice, is so excited.

Sixty-six percent of registered US voters say developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress. That’s according to a study released last week by Yale University and George Mason University’s climate change communication programs.

The addition of utility-scale solar capacity is expected to set a new record by adding 15.4 GW of capacity to the US grid in 2021, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced today.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Montana gets its largest wind farm as the state embraces renewables and moves away from coal.
• EV charging giant EVBox doubles its installed electric charge ports globally in just one year to 200,000.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

Xcel Energy’s self-build 522-MW Sagamore Wind Project in eastern New Mexico, on the Texas border, is now online. It’s New Mexico’s largest single wind farm.

One of Europe’s largest vertical farms is up and running in a warehouse near Copenhagen, and it’s powered by wind. That’s not surprising, since Denmark has the highest proportion of wind power in the world.

Dogger Bank, which will eventually become the world’s largest offshore wind farm, is getting an $8 billion investment from Norwegian oil giant Equinor and British energy company SSE. The money will be used to construct the first two phases of the project.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has released his 10-point plan for a “green industrial revolution.” Yesterday, Electrek wrote about the government’s plan for the UK’s electric vehicle transition by 2030. Here are the green energy highlights.

As Electrek reported in December 2019, “Nearly half of US states impose fees on EV owners or will consider adding fees in 2020. The ill-conceived idea is to make up for gaps in roadway infrastructure investments usually derived from gasoline taxes.” Next up? Texas.